Karnataka politicians clash over alleged mass voter deletion conspiracy

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has accused the BJP of a conspiracy to delete millions of voters from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. Shivakumar alleged that pre-filled Form 7 applications were being used in bulk to target minority communities, Dalits, and backward classes. He has demanded that the State Chief Electoral Officer register criminal cases against those involved in this alleged ‘vote theft’.

In response, Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra rejected the allegations, stating that the claim of 50 lakh deletions is false. He asserted that only approximately 25,000 Form 7 applications had been submitted across various constituencies by various political parties. Vijayendra challenged the Chief Minister to prove the conspiracy and suggested the allegations were a diversionary tactic.

Reports indicate that similar issues with bulk, pre-printed Form 7 filings have been noted in other states including Odisha, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. In Belagavi, an FIR was registered against a BJP leader for allegedly attempting to delete 198 minority voters using fake documents. Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy also criticized the Congress party, claiming the protest against the SIR process is a political drama intended to divert attention from other issues.